Buffing wheel



Sept. 12, 1950 e. R. CHURCHILL BUFFING WHEEL Filed April 29, 1948 2Sheets-Sheet 1 11V VEN TOR. byegge aurc4/// .1 ch rm ATTORNEY Sgpt. 12,1950 G. R. CHURCHILL 2,522,093

BUFFING WHEEL Filed April 29, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

By ge Kda/KAM/ JZJM QLMCM HTTOR/VEV Patented Sept. 12, 1950 umrsoSTATES-- PATENT OFFICE i 2,522,093 BUFFING WHEEL George R. Churchill,Hingham, Mass. Application April 29, 1948, Serial No. 24,058

Claims.

Thi invention relates to a buffing wheel or roll.

The invention has for an object to provide a novel and improved buflingwheel or roll which is of simple construction, may be economicallymanufactured, and which is highly efficient in use.

With this general object in view and such others as may hereinafterappear, the invention consists in the buffing wheel hereinafterdescribed and particularly defined in the claims at the end of thisspecification.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention,Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a buffing wheel or roll embodying thepresent invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in cross sectionshowing the present buffing wheel or roll assembled on an arbor; Fig. 3is a side elevation, partly broken away, illustrating. a preferred formof buffing material embodied in the present invention; Fig. 4 is, aperspective view of alength of buffing material in the process of beingwound about a central hollow core member and Fig. 5 is a perspectivedetail of a modified form of bufiing strip for use in producing abuffing wheel or roll to be referred to. e

In general, the present invention contemplates a cloth bufiing wheelunit of the type adapted to be mounted upon. a rotary arbor.H'eretofore, such buffing Wheels have been made up of a plu rality ofindividual bufiing wheel sections, each section comprising a relativelynarrow closed ring with thebuffing material extending radially from andsubstantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation, such sections beingclamped together on the arbor side by side in parallel relation to forma buffing wheel of the desired width Oneof the disadvantages of thistype of buffing wheel is that although the individual sections areclosely associated, each section is likely to be denser at the medialportion of its bufiing surface than at its outer edges so that streakingand ridging of the work is likely to occur where the medial portions ofthe sections engage the work. j e

In accordance with the present invention the buffing wheel unit ispreferably constructed by winding 2. continuous length or strip ofbuffing material spirally about an arbor or core so that the relativelynarrow strip of radially extended bufling material forms a substantiallyhelical buffing surface. Thus, during the bufling operation therelatively dense medial portions of the strip and the less dense orsofter edge portions of the strip tend to counteract each other becauseof the angular-disposition ofthe stripproduced by 2 such winding so asto provide a more uniform buffing action on the work and reducing to aminimum any tendency of the buffing unit to cause Streaking or ridgingof the work.

Referring now to the drawings, it represents a bufling wheel embodyingthe present invention and which comprises a strip of buffing materialindicated generally at [2 spirally wound about a hollow core or tube 14.

.The strip of buffing material may take any usual or preferred form suchas a strip made up of multiple layers of cloth bufling material, thepreferred form being herein illustrated as comprising an elongated andrelatively narrow strip Of-COIIIIGCtBd bufiingfingers l6, each fingerpreferably comprising a plurality of folded lengths of cloth connectedtogether at their lowerends. preferably by weaving wires {8, asillustrated in Fig. 3, and which may and preferably will comprise thestrip of buffing material illustrated and described in my United StatesPatent No. 2,146,284 issued February '7, 1939. The folded layers ofcloth comprising each finger may be secured together such as bystitching indicated generally at H, or, where a softer bufi is desired,the stitching or other securing means is preferably omitted, the fingersbeing held in their assembled form by the weaving wires 18 connectingtheir lower ends, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4.

In one embodiment of the present invention the strip of buffing materialthus formed may be spirally wound about the bufling wheel arbor 2i! andsecurely clamped thereto, the number of turns taken depending on thewidth of buffing surface desired. In the commercial form of the buflingwheel herein illustrated it is preferred to wind the strip about ahollow arbor or core member such as a'cardboard tube It, and toadhesively secure the strip to the tube in the manner illustrated inFig. 4, to form a unitary buffing wheel of the desired width which maybe slipped over the bufi'lng wheel arbor 20 and clamped thereto. betweencollars 22 by a nut 24. The collars 22 may and preferably will havetheir inner faces shaped to correspond to the offset position of theoverlapping ends of the spirally wound unit, as indicated in Fig. 2, orsuitable fillers may be employed.

The adhesive employed may comprise any suitable glue or cementsatisfactory for this purposeand in practice, the outer surface of thetube and the butt ends of the bufling fingers and sides of the buffingfingers adjacent the ends or both may be provided with a-coating ofadhesive indicated at 25 prior to the winding operation whereupon thewound strip may be compressed longitudinally of the hollow tube l4 andmaintained under compression until the adhesive is firmly set. The abovedescribed manner of adhesively uniting the strip and the tube is merelyillustrative it being understood that the strip may be mechanically orotherwise secured together and to the hollow core or arbor.

In practice it has been found that eflicient results may be obtained byproviding the inner or butt ends of the strip [2 with a binding tape,such as a relatively heavy piece of bias tape 26 wrapped about thebottom and sides of the butt ends of the bufiing material strip I2 andstitched or otherwise attached thereto, as shown in Fig. 3, the tapepreferably extending beyond the weaving wires [8, as illustrated. Theouter surface of the bias binding tape 26 may then be provided with acoating of adhesive immediately prior to winding the strip upon thearbor or hollow core M. The bias binding tape 26 or other material usedmay and preferably will be of a character such as to provide a firmadhesive bond with the tube and between adjacent coils of the spiralwhen compressed. Instead of the binding tape 26, I may prefer to employa metal binding strip 21 of general U-shape having prongs 29 capable ofbeing forced into the lateral surfaces of the strip l2 of bufiingmaterial as indicated in Fig. 5.

It is desirable in some instances to provide a space between adjacentconvolutions of the spiral in order to produce a b-uifing wheel of lessdensity, and, in the illustrated embodiment of the invention the sidewall thickness of the bias binding tape 26 or the metal binding strip 21may constitute the spacing member between adjacent convolutions, or, ifdesired, an auxiliary spacing member either separate from or attached tothe buffing strip may be wound about the core with the strip for thispurpose.

While the preferred form of the invention illustrated herein comprisesan elongated strip of buifing material spirally wound and adhesivelysecured to a hollow core, it will be understood that the invention maybe embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims, andin which the denser and less dense portions of the buffing wheel are soarranged as to tend to counteract each other to prevent ridging andstreaking of the work. A variation of the continuously wound strip may,for example, comprise a plurality of individual single coil helicallyformed sections, each coil fitted in nesting relationship with anadjacent coil toform a bufl'lng wheel of the width desired. p

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A cylindrical buiiing roll of substantial length adapted in use to berotated about its axis, said roll comprising an arbor and a continuouselongated strip of connected cloth bufling elements wound helically andwith a substantial lead about the arbor equal at least to the normaluncompressed thickness of the strip, each element comprising arelatively narrow multi-ply assembly, said strip presenting the buflingelements in a radial direction to form the cylindrical bufiing roll, andmeans for securing said strip to the. arbor in cluding end collarsshaped to correspond to the ends of the buffing roll for causing thestrip to assome a helical shape as it is being wound around the arborand for maintaining the strip in such shape, whereby during the bufiingoperation. the

work is successively brought into contact with portions of the surfaceof the roll of varying density, thus eliminating streaking of the work.

2. A cylindrical buifing roll of substantial length adapted in use to berotated about its axis, said roll comprising an arbor and a continuouselongated strip of connected cloth bufii'ng elements wound helically andwith a substantial lead about the arbor equal at least to the normaluncompressed thickness of the strip, each elenient comprising arelatively narrow multi-ply assembly, said strip presenting the buflingelements in a radial direction to form the cylindrical bufiing roll, andmeans for securing said strip to the arbor including end flanges havinginclined and offset inner surfaces corresponding to the overlapping endsand adjacent surfaces of the ends of the bufiing roll for causing thestrip to assume a helical shape as it is being wound around the arborand for maintaining the strip in such shape, whereby during the bufiingoperation the work is successively brought into contact with portions ofthe surface of the roll of varying density, thus eliminating streakingof the work.

3. A cloth buffing wheel comprising an elongated hollow supportingmember, and a helically wound strip of buifing cloth, said stripcomprising a series of connected radially extended buffing elements,each element comprising a multi-ply assembly imparting to thewheel abufilng surface of varying density, the helical winding of said striphaving a pitch substantially equal to the normal uncompressed thicknessof the strip so as to overcome the normal tendency of the inequalitiesin density to streak the work being buffed, and means for securing thestrip to the supporting member to form a unit therewith including endflanges having inclined and offset inner surfaces corresponding in shapeto the overlapping ends and adjacent surfaces of the strip for causingthe strip to assume the helical form as it is woundupon the supportingmember and for maintaining the strip in such form, adjacent convolutionsof said helically wound strip being adhesively secured to said hollowsupporting member.

4. A cloth buffing wheel comprising a hub member and a helically woundstrip of'bufling cloth, said strip comprising a series of connectedradially extended buffing elements, each element comprising a multi-plyassembly imparting to the wheel a buifing surface of varying density,the helical winding of said strip having a pitch substantially equal tothe normal uncompressed thickness of the strip'so as to overcome thenormal tendency of the inequalities in density to streak'the work beingbuffed, and means for se curing the strip to the'hub including endflanges having inclined and offset inner surface corresponding in shapeto the overlapping ends and adjacent surfaces of the strip for causingthe strip to assume its helical shape as it is wound around the hub andfor maintaining the samein such shape, said strip having a cloth bindingtape secured to the lower end portion thereof.

5. A cloth buffing wheel comprising a hub member and a helically woundstrip of bufiing cloth, said' strip comprising a series of connectedradially extended buffing elements, each element comprising a multi-ply.assembly imparting to the wheel a buffing surface of varying density,the helical winding of said strip having a pitch substantially equal. tothe normal uncompressed thickness of the strip so as to overcome thenormal tendency of the inequalities in density to streak the work beingbuffed, and means for securing the strip to the hub including endflanges having inclined and offset inner surfaces corresponding in shapeto the overlapping ends and adjacent surfaces of the strip for causing,the strip to assume its helical shape as it is Wound around the hub andfor maintaining the same in such shape, said strip having a U-shapedcloth binding tape attached to and extended about the lower end portionthereof.

GEORGE R. CHURCHILL.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

